One of the most famous Alabama lawyers never lived. But his creator did and she taught us a lot.

Fictional lawyer Atticus Finch of  To Kill a Mockingbird  was created by the real Alabama writer Harper Lee. It made her wealthy and the target of possible financial abuse while in an Alabama assisted living facility.

Our state along with the federal government has done a pretty good job of defining what good physical care is and punishments for those who break those rules. However, it is all too easy for a caregiver to slowly deplete an elderly persons bank accounts or steal their property.

You don’t hear much about this type of abuse because there is no insurance money or business to sue. Usually the person doing this crime doesn’t have much and often cannot even pay back what they stole.

In the Harper Lee case, she signed over rights to her book but some friends and business associates thought she was taken advantage of because of her ill health and possibly limited mental capacity. She said she had no memory of every signing away the rights. It ended up in a court battle and she was given her book rights back.

Now most of us will never have a literary masterpiece like  To Kill a Mockingbird , but we do collect things over a lifetime that can be sold to help provide our care. If you see abuse of any kind, you have a duty to speak up. You can talk to a personal injury attorney for free. I talk to people all the time. At the least, contact the Alabama Department of Public Health.

If you or someone you love is injured, you can talk to us at  Eiland and Ritchie  for free. There is no charge unless we collect for you. We want to help you and in doing so make sure abuse doesn’t happen to anyone else.

Allen Ritchie

Alabama personal injury lawyer

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